woodpecker

/ˌwʊdˈpɛkər/

/ˈwʊdpɛkə/

Other forms: woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are birds that use their sharp bills to drill holes in trees so they can forage for insects. While woodpeckers are occasionally considered pests, they actually protect trees against infestation..

There are over 200 species of woodpecker, most of which live in wooded areas. They vary in appearance, but many have black and white feathers and a bright red cap. One thing all woodpeckers have in common is the ability to peck holes in a tree trunk hard enough so they can reach the tasty insects and grubs inside with their long tongues. If you hear a faint tapping as you walk through the forest, it's probably a woodpecker!

Definitions of woodpecker

1. noun

   bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects
   synonyms: pecker, peckerwood

   types:

   Picus viridis, green woodpecker

   woodpecker of Europe and western Asia

   downy woodpecker

   small North American woodpecker with black and white plumage and a small bill

   flicker

   North American woodpecker

   Campephilus principalis, ivory-billed woodpecker, ivorybill

   large black-and-white woodpecker of southern United States and Cuba having an ivory bill; nearly extinct

   Melanerpes erythrocephalus, redhead, redheaded woodpecker

   black-and-white North American woodpecker having a red head and neck

   sapsucker

   small American woodpecker that feeds on sap from e.g. apple and maple trees

   wryneck

   Old World woodpecker with a peculiar habit of twisting the neck

   piculet

   small woodpeckers of South America and Africa and East Indies having soft rounded tail feathers

   Colaptes auratus, yellow-shafted flicker, yellowhammer

   large flicker of eastern North America with a red neck and yellow undersurface to wings and tail

   Colaptes chrysoides, gilded flicker

   southwestern United States bird like the yellow-shafted flicker but lacking the red neck

   Colaptes caper collaris, red-shafted flicker

   western United States bird with red undersurface to wings and tail

   Sphyrapicus varius, yellow-bellied sapsucker

   eastern North American sapsucker having a pale yellow abdomen

   Sphyrapicus varius ruber, red-breasted sapsucker

   western North American sapsucker

   type of:

   piciform bird

   any of numerous nonpasserine insectivorous climbing birds usually having strong bills for boring wood